Volusia schools adjusting new rating system for teachers

LINDA TRIMBLEEDUCATION WRITER

Published: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 6:03 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 6:03 p.m.

DAYTONA BEACH — Volusia County School Superintendent Margaret Smith applied the brakes Wednesday on part of a new evaluation system that had lowered the performance ratings of more than 100 Volusia teachers based on state test scores, sometimes from students they never taught.

Smith notified teachers, principals and assistant principals Wednesday that none of their evaluations for the 2011-12 school year will be "negatively impacted" by inclusion of a new "value added model" that has stirred controversy around the state.

Adjusted ratings based on changes in the way Volusia counts the factors that go into the overall evaluation will be released in a few days, Smith said.

"It is at best an imperfect system," she said of the value added model. "We're trying to be fair and equitable to all."

Stakes are high for teachers and school administrators who can lose their jobs over repeated low performance ratings. Two years from now, their evaluations will determine which teachers qualify for merit pay.

Under state law, the value added model — comparing how students scored on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test to how they were expected to perform — began counting last school year for half of the evaluation score for teachers, principals and assistant principals. Classroom observations, lesson plans and other factors make up the other half.

The Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union, is already challenging the law in court and recently asked Gov. Rick Scott to put implementation of the value added ratings on hold after teachers were notified recently of their scores for last school year.

Some teachers, like Jennifer Hughes of Palm Terrace Elementary in Daytona Beach, cried when they pulled up their value added ratings on a school computer in mid-November.

School employee evaluations are confidential for a year, but Hughes said she was rated as "proficient" — the second highest rating possible — on the first half of her evaluation while the value added adjustment pulled her down to "needs improvement." Three consecutive years of that rating – the second lowest possible — could cost Hughes her job.

And that was based on FCAT scores from students who weren't even in her River Springs Middle School class last year for children with severe and profound disabilities. Her value added calculation defaulted to schoolwide FCAT scores because Hughes had fewer than 10 children in her class.

Rating teachers' performance on test scores of students who aren't in their classes is one of the major problems with Florida's value added system, said Andrew Spar, president of the Volusia Teachers Organization.

Many of the more than 100 Volusia teachers who complained to that union about their performance ratings being dragged down by the value added model teach subjects such as high school math, kindergarten, music, art or physical education that aren't tested by FCAT. Spar said schoolwide FCAT math and reading scores are used to rate those teachers.

No major changes are planned in Flagler County, but since the scores were released earlier this month, about 30 teachers complained about or questioned how their scores were determined, said Shawn Schmidli, the district's coordinator for assessment, accountability and equity.

During a regular meeting this coming Tuesday, the Flagler County School Board will consider a few minor changes, including allowing kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers with less than three years of student data to use a schoolwide score to determine the rest of their personal student evaluation score.

"It's definitely been a controversial subject," Schmidli said. "We're trying to do the best job in implementing this as possible."

Flagler County Educators Association President Katie Hansen and Superintendent Janet Valentine could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Hughes and Spar were pleased with Smith's decision to adjust Volusia teachers' evaluations for last school year.

"I think it's the right thing. I'm very pleased that a system that does not make sense is not going to negatively impact teachers," Spar said.

Even with that, he and Smith said the larger issue of how the evaluation formula is applied in the future remains to be settled.

"We're going to go back and review everything again," Smith said. "You can always have amendments."

Spar said the Volusia Teachers Organization will work with the state teachers union to try to persuade the Legislature to change the law that requires use of the value added model.

<p>DAYTONA BEACH &mdash; Volusia County School Superintendent Margaret Smith applied the brakes Wednesday on part of a new evaluation system that had lowered the performance ratings of more than 100 Volusia teachers based on state test scores, sometimes from students they never taught. </p><p>Smith notified teachers, principals and assistant principals Wednesday that none of their evaluations for the 2011-12 school year will be "negatively impacted" by inclusion of a new "value added model" that has stirred controversy around the state. </p><p>Adjusted ratings based on changes in the way Volusia counts the factors that go into the overall evaluation will be released in a few days, Smith said. </p><p>"It is at best an imperfect system," she said of the value added model. "We're trying to be fair and equitable to all." </p><p>Stakes are high for teachers and school administrators who can lose their jobs over repeated low performance ratings. Two years from now, their evaluations will determine which teachers qualify for merit pay. </p><p>Under state law, the value added model &mdash; comparing how students scored on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test to how they were expected to perform &mdash; began counting last school year for half of the evaluation score for teachers, principals and assistant principals. Classroom observations, lesson plans and other factors make up the other half. </p><p>The Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union, is already challenging the law in court and recently asked Gov. Rick Scott to put implementation of the value added ratings on hold after teachers were notified recently of their scores for last school year. </p><p>Some teachers, like Jennifer Hughes of Palm Terrace Elementary in Daytona Beach, cried when they pulled up their value added ratings on a school computer in mid-November. </p><p>School employee evaluations are confidential for a year, but Hughes said she was rated as "proficient" &mdash; the second highest rating possible &mdash; on the first half of her evaluation while the value added adjustment pulled her down to "needs improvement." Three consecutive years of that rating – the second lowest possible &mdash; could cost Hughes her job. </p><p>And that was based on FCAT scores from students who weren't even in her River Springs Middle School class last year for children with severe and profound disabilities. Her value added calculation defaulted to schoolwide FCAT scores because Hughes had fewer than 10 children in her class. </p><p>Rating teachers' performance on test scores of students who aren't in their classes is one of the major problems with Florida's value added system, said Andrew Spar, president of the Volusia Teachers Organization. </p><p>Many of the more than 100 Volusia teachers who complained to that union about their performance ratings being dragged down by the value added model teach subjects such as high school math, kindergarten, music, art or physical education that aren't tested by FCAT. Spar said schoolwide FCAT math and reading scores are used to rate those teachers. </p><p>No major changes are planned in Flagler County, but since the scores were released earlier this month, about 30 teachers complained about or questioned how their scores were determined, said Shawn Schmidli, the district's coordinator for assessment, accountability and equity. </p><p>During a regular meeting this coming Tuesday, the Flagler County School Board will consider a few minor changes, including allowing kindergarten through eighth-grade teachers with less than three years of student data to use a schoolwide score to determine the rest of their personal student evaluation score. </p><p>"It's definitely been a controversial subject," Schmidli said. "We're trying to do the best job in implementing this as possible." </p><p>Flagler County Educators Association President Katie Hansen and Superintendent Janet Valentine could not be reached for comment Wednesday.</p><p>Hughes and Spar were pleased with Smith's decision to adjust Volusia teachers' evaluations for last school year. </p><p>"I think it's the right thing. I'm very pleased that a system that does not make sense is not going to negatively impact teachers," Spar said. </p><p>Even with that, he and Smith said the larger issue of how the evaluation formula is applied in the future remains to be settled. </p><p>"We're going to go back and review everything again," Smith said. "You can always have amendments." </p><p>Spar said the Volusia Teachers Organization will work with the state teachers union to try to persuade the Legislature to change the law that requires use of the value added model.</p>